FlowSurf ads: what it is and how to remove it
FlowSurf is a suspicious browser extension that claims to have beneficial features such as jumping from one page to another just with one click. The app claims that it provides easier and faster browsing, however, it is considered to belong to the adware category because of the advertising content it displays intrusively.
Facts checked October 6, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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FlowSurf ads: summary
| Name | FlowSurf |
|---|---|
| Type | Adware |
| Sub-type | PUP |
| Danger level | Low. However, it can take you to potentially infectious pages that are filled with malware |
| Format | The adware might come in a browser extension/add-on |
| Where found | On browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Explorer, Edge, and Safari |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 10 more facts
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
|---|---|
| Distribution | Not recorded in the old report |
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
| Symptoms | Redirects to an unknown domain |
| Evidence | 4 write-ups by security sites; details still limited |
| Domains | novirus.uk |
| Ads shown as | Redirects through ad pages |
| Browsers | Chrome, Edge and Firefox |
| First seen | 6 April 2021 |
| Facts checked | 6 October 2026 |
What the FlowSurf ads ads look like
FLOWSURF allows to jump through pages with a single click, without having to scroll the entire page and click on the tiny next button.
Is FlowSurf ads dangerous?
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
FlowSurf – a rogue browser add-on that claims to allow jumping between web pages
FlowSurf is a suspicious browser extension that claims to have beneficial features such as jumping from one page to another just with one click.
The app claims that it provides easier and faster browsing, however, it is considered to belong to the adware category because of the advertising content it displays intrusively.
This is also one of the main reasons why this adware also is called a virus and people remain calling it malware since it is intrusive and silent. After infecting browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and similar, and altering their homepages, it begins pushing suspicious notifications and redirecting the user to affiliate networks. To fully get rid of the symptoms, you need to clear traces of the PUP completely.
FlowSurf is not an app you can trust. It uses deceptive techniques to reach the system and when it is here, do not wait for anything satisfying here. You might discover this potentially unwanted application in your browser settings in the extension section. As long as it is there, no browser modifications will be possible to eliminate.
Even though the program brings a bunch of unwanted activities, if you ever run into its official page, you will see a nice promotion of the tool. It is described in these words:
Do not fall for this questionable promotion as it is nothing compared to what you are going to experience next. The advertising program will make sure that its offers reach your desktop whenever you are browsing the Internet sphere. Later on, you will probably experience browser crashes due to the excessive number of ads received and the increasing CPU power.
Nevertheless, pop-up ads might carry misleading deals and offers. If you fall for them, you might spend money on completely useless products or services, for example, rogue security software. So, be careful and do not get attracted to the ads while dealing with this adware. Also, you can try preventing the notification flow by completing the following:
Additionally, such redirects might also be a problem for you. Ad-supported applications are known for their redirecting abilities to other third-party networks some of which might include malicious objects. Be aware of this redirecting activity as you might land somewhere you do not want to be and get your system infected with even more severe malware.
You should remove FlowSurf from the computer to avoid all of these risks. The elimination process can be successfully carried out with the help of a tool such as anti-malware tools. However, if you are looking for manual virus removal instructions, take a look at the end of this article and you will guidelines for your OS and all web browsers.
One more important reason to perform the removal is that this application might collect browsing-related information that includes your IP address, email address, type of browser used, commonly visited websites, clicked hyperlinks, etc. Later on, this type of data is used for providing attractive-looking offers regarding the gathered results.
- Launch the infected web browser.
- Locate the Menu (it will usually be three dots on the upper right corner of your browser windows).
- Go to Settings and select Advanced.
- Under Site Settings, you will find Notifications.
- Locate The app and get rid of it from the list.
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on FlowSurf
- For automatical removal, use .
How FlowSurf ads got into your browser
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
Technology experts from NoVirus.uk claim that adware applications and similar potentially unwanted content is delivered through software bundles which include freeware or shareware.
These downloads are often performed in an unprotected mode, for example, "Quick" or "Recommended". These settings allow additional content to easily slip through security barriers and successfully reach the computer system.
A suggestion from our side would be to opt for "Custom" or "Advanced" configuration that allows the user to manage all incoming downloads manually. Another piece of advice would be to watch from what type of sources you are downloading your programs.
Better opt for installations of software only from their original websites and original developers, otherwise, there is a big chance that you will end up with unwanted additional objects on your machine.
Continuously, adware and other PUPs can be promoted via third-party networks. Usually, such apps come injected into hyperlinks or advertising posts. Once the user enters such questionable content, he/she unknowingly proceeds with the downloading process of the potentially unwanted program. Keeping a proper distance from unknown sources on the web sphere should increase your machine's safety level.
Check your browser and PC
- Address:
novirus.uk
How to remove FlowSurf ads
How to remove the FlowSurf extension
Do the browser steps in every browser and profile on the PC, then check Windows for the program that installed the extension.
Step 1: Remove extensions you did not add
FlowSurf often works through an extension, so go through the extension list of each browser:
chrome://extensionsedge://extensions- Extensions and themes in Firefox
Switch suspicious extensions off one at a time and reload the page where the problem shows, then remove the one that stops it, and any other you did not add.
Remember the other browsers and profiles on the PC. If Remove is missing or greyed out, a policy forces the extension, which the policy step deals with. Windows 11 and Windows 10 show the same pages.
Chrome on Windows 11: More > Extensions > Manage extensions. Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Step 2: Uninstall programs you did not mean to install
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows 11, or Settings > Apps > Apps & features in Windows 10, and sort the list by install date. Look at what appeared around the day the problem started and uninstall every program you do not recognise or did not choose.
Free converters, PDF and video tools, "system optimizers" and unknown browsers are the usual carriers of FlowSurf. If a name is unclear, search for it before you remove it, so you do not uninstall a driver or a Windows component.
Full procedure with screenshots: Uninstall a program or app in Windows On uGetFix
Step 3: Reset the browser
Finish the browser part with a reset, which puts the search engine, start page, new tab page and site permissions back to their defaults and switches extensions off. Chrome: Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults.
Edge: Settings > Reset settings. Firefox: Help > More troubleshooting information > Refresh Firefox, which also removes its extensions. Your bookmarks and saved passwords are kept, and the menus are the same on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Chrome on Windows 11: Settings > Reset settings. Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 4: Scan the PC, then run the offline scan
Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, run a Full scan and remove everything it finds. Then select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now: the PC restarts and scans before Windows loads, which finds files that hide while Windows runs.
Save your work first, because the offline scan takes about 15 minutes. Both scans are built into Windows 11 and Windows 10, and a second scanner from another vendor is a useful extra opinion.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Instructions for each browser and system
The detailed steps for every browser and system this guide covers. Open the one you use.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online.
One of the basic means to add a layer of security - choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features.
However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful VPN - it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable.
Family photos, work documents, school projects - these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur:
- power cuts
- Blue Screen of Death errors
- hardware failures
- crypto-malware attack
- even accidental deletion
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
From our report of Apr 2021 · not reviewed since
Termination steps for adware on Mac OS X and Windows
Having adware on your computer for a long time might relate to the various browser and system problems.
The potentially unwanted program might start causing system freezes and browser struggles due to the excessive amount of advertising content that is being produced and overusing the system's resources such as CPU and GPU. This is why you need to remove it from the machine as soon as you detect it.
FlowSurf removal can be carried out in two ways: manual and automatic. If you are keen on removing the suspicious threat on your own, you should continue with the following instructions that allow you to clean web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Explorer, Edge.
Questions about FlowSurf ads
novirus.uk opens when I click links. What causes it?
When every click leads to novirus.uk first, an extension or a script on the page is rewriting the links. If it happens only on one site, that site uses aggressive ads; close it and use another source. If it happens everywhere, open the browser in a private window, where extensions are normally off, and try again.
No redirect in the private window means one of your extensions is responsible: remove the ones you do not know. A redirect in the private window too means the cause is outside the extensions, such as a notification permission, a changed search setting or a program installed on the PC. The removal steps in this guide cover each of those.
Should I worry about redirects to novirus.uk?
Worry less about novirus.uk itself and more about what keeps sending you there. A single redirect from a free streaming or download site is normal and harmless once the tab is closed.
Repeated redirects on sites that used to work fine mean something in the browser or in Windows changed, often an extension or program installed alongside other software. It may also collect the pages you visit. Remove the cause with the steps in this guide, and do not act on anything the redirected pages ask:
- no Allow clicks
- no downloads
- no calls
If you already did one of those, the matching section of this guide explains what to do next.
What is FlowSurf?
FlowSurf is an adware extension, a kind of adware. It earns money by showing redirects through ad pages, and each view, click or redirect pays whoever runs it. It is not something people usually choose; it arrives through a free download, a fake button or a misleading prompt.
FlowSurf does not encrypt files or take control of Windows, but its ads are sold to anyone, including scam operators, so they can lead to fake virus warnings and unwanted downloads. The steps in this guide remove it from Windows and from each browser.
Which browsers does FlowSurf affect?
In the cases we checked, FlowSurf showed up in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. That does not rule out others on your PC, since adware installers often target every browser they find, and permissions and extensions sync across computers signed in to the same browser account.
Open each browser you have, go to its extensions page and its notification settings, and remove anything you do not recognise. Profiles count separately: Chrome and Edge can each hold several, and each one needs checking on its own.
Are the pop-ups I see really from FlowSurf?
Compare them with the details in the table above. FlowSurf produces redirects through ad pages, and the clearest sign of it is redirects to novirus.uk. Other adware looks similar, so check the name of the sending site at the bottom of a notification, the address in the tab that opened, or the newest entries on the extensions page.
If those match, this guide fits. If you see a different name, the same kind of steps apply, but remove the item you actually find rather than guessing.
Why is my browser so slow since the ads started?
Each page now does extra work. An adware extension reads the page, decides where to put ads, loads them from ad servers and reports your visit, and that happens on every tab. Ad-supported programs add their own background activity.
Removing the extension or program usually makes the browser fast again at once. If it stays slow, open the browser's own task manager with Shift+Esc in Chrome or Edge and look for extensions using a lot of memory or processor time.
Can an adware pop-up infect my PC just by appearing?
No. A pop-up, a notification or a new tab is only a web page or a message. It cannot run programs on Windows by itself, provided the browser and Windows are up to date. Infection needs a step from you:
- running a downloaded file
- installing an extension
- giving a stranger remote access
That is why scam pages work so hard to make you click. Close such pages with the tab's X or by closing the browser, not with buttons inside the page, which may start a download.
My scan found nothing, but the ads continue. Why?
Because the source may not be a file a scanner looks for. Browser notifications are a permission stored in the browser, and many adware extensions are not flagged because they come from an official store.
Some ad-supported programs are only reported if you enable detection of potentially unwanted apps. So a clean scan does not mean the job is done. Check each browser's notification permissions and extension list by hand, and turn on Potentially unwanted app blocking in Windows Security before scanning again.
Did FlowSurf collect my data?
Adware typically collects what it needs to choose ads:
- the sites you visit
- search terms
- approximate location
- browser and system details
Extensions with permission to read and change data on all websites can technically see everything on those pages, including forms. That is a privacy problem rather than proof of theft.
If you typed card details or passwords while it was active, changing the most important passwords is a reasonable precaution. Clearing cookies after removal ends the tracking sessions it may have started.
Will Fortect remove FlowSurf?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For FlowSurf, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rogue Security Software (read October 6, 2026)
- Google Chrome Help: Use notifications to get alerts (no longer online) (read October 6, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 6, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Defender Offline (read October 6, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: How Microsoft names malware (read October 6, 2026)